Team #1003

Team members: Sasha Ogas and David Potts

The Rhythm of Hailstones

Computer programming is found more and more in every aspect of music. Research has shown that dance is missing from the world of computer programming.

Dance choreography takes more than just a good imagination. A choreographer needs a database for original dance ideas. Using the “Hailstone Theory” and logarithms the choreographer can draw from the basic eight counts and develop dynamic, original dance choreography. The Rhythm of Hailstones computer program will achieve this.

Research has revealed an interesting feature of the “Hailstone Theory.” Using the value of n, entered by the user, the numbers tend to go up and down somewhat erratically, but eventually always reach zero. The “Hailstone Theory” output a sequence that resembles the shape of musical melodies. Placing the values produced by the “Hailstone Theory” into a logarithmic function will give a set of unique numbers that will be used to decide from a database of eight counts in what order the newly created dance will be performed.

The plan of action is to create a C++ program that will find the hailstone numbers and place these values into a log function displaying the results. These results will then be placed in a movie program named “Windows Movie Maker” along with the music and video clips of eight counts, which correspond to the results of the C++ program. The “Windows Movie Maker” software will output a visual result of the programming process.